The Missing Links
by Veritas Unae
Summary: A twist on the regular tale, with completely new characters and plot twists a plenty. This is my first fanfiction! Chapter 5 now added, after much delay. I changed the rating just in case...
1. Chapter 1: The Heat of the Hearth

The Missing Links: A Marchen Awakens Romance Fanfiction.

This is my first fan fiction, so please be kind I'll make longer ones soon, I promise.

Chapter 1: The Heat of the Hearth

* * *

The cold blasted against him like arrows, pummelling him with a constant stream of snow. He was getting close to leaving this god forsaken place; he could feel warmer air, less wind, more light. A stumble sent him into the ground, laden with snow. Pushing himself up with his hands, bloodstained and numb, he set of again. He would make it tonight, but he had to keep going ahead. Life had lost all meaning to him, it was now a struggle to get from place to place, but soon the snow would no longer punish him with its brutality. This time, he would not back down. 

It seeped into every inch of his body, through his black cloak, purple-red jumper, black long pants, it was chilling him to the bitter end. And yet, the mysterious traveller, not wanted anywhere, continued, pressing onward to the girl he knew would know him. He hoped. No, this was not the way to be thinking. She would know. And then it would be all the sweeter when he crushed her. Even he knew of her success; he hadn't been living under a rock, only finding small communities in the snow to tell him more about her.

When he was young, she was looked after and he was left behind. He tried to get attention, but the sweet little girl was all that mattered in their life. And then their mother died. The father remarried, but this lady was different. She noticed him. And the anger that boiled inside him. She gave him toys; toys which he now knew full well what their real purpose was. They were ARM; each one maxed out with as many magical stones that it could hold. She saw him grow with them; grow into a fine young warrior. Before she disappeared, she told him where to find her. He went there and joined her ranks. Now, he realised that he would need to find these people again, if he was ever to find his sister, and crush her into dust.

He trekked, camped and made his slow way to the edge of the snowy land he had been travelling since that time long ago, just after the war was over. Now, six years later, he would rise to the top of those ranks, and take down his sister and her friends too. But he needed to get there first. He knew it would take a while. First he needed to get reacquainted with his stepmother's followers. He needed to find them, and help them to crush their enemies.

He needed food.

* * *

(Foot Notes: No prizes to the people who can guess the people I'm talking about here. It's pretty obvious if you've seen the series. 

Till next time! VOA)


	2. Chapter 2: The Village of Fire

(Oh, by the way, this is before they verse Loco, and of course, before Ginta separates Alan and Edward)

Chapter 2: The Village of Fire

* * *

The warmth he felt as he left the icy plain made him feel very uncomfortable. He wasn't used to heat this strong. He was icy to the core, a cold heart, and ice was the way he lived, ever since he was a small child. As he entered this desolate village, he took a quick glance at the sign, and noticed a poster below it. When he noticed his sister on hit, he quickly ran to it. It talked of their accomplishments against the Chess Pieces, of which it went on to show many of the enemies they had already fought. 

_They haven't even fought a bishop level yet! This is a joke!_ he thought to himself. It seemed as though everywhere he turned he saw his sister and her group of friends: the blond boy, the monkey boy, the Luberian, the Cross Guard, the dog-man and the other girl. But, this was not his problem. When he left, he was almost a knight, and if he ever found them, he'd work his way there faster than anyone had ever gone before. That is, if he needed to.

As he continued further into the city, he felt the need to take of his extra protection; where it had been helping against the cold, it now cooked from the warmth. First was the cloak, then the jumper, showing his T-shirt beneath: a black and white shirt, with a red skull-and-crossbones emblem on his chest. Really, he was only a young teenager, being around fifteen to sixteen years old; he had stopped keeping track of his age since more important things were on him mind. He had few clothes and personal items: a spare change, his three ÄRM and some identification to prove he was a Chess Piece. All he needed now was to find a link to them.

* * *

Ginta woke to a new day, better than the last in that today they had a set of battles against them, and he knew that his team would do well. He got ready for the games by taking a few calming breaths and some magic power channelling before waking the "un-wakeable": his legendary ÄRM Babbo. 

"What do you think you're doing?" Babbo asked as he found himself on the floor with a bruise on his head.

_It's times like this I wish he couldn't talk,_ Ginta thought "Getting you out of bed! The games'll be starting soon, so get a move on!" He grabbed the end of Babbo's hammer and dragged him out of the room, with Babbo struggling all the way.

* * *

Sideways glances were being made at the stranger to the village, and gasps of horror were exerted as they notice the cuts, bruises, scathes and his beaten down body. But mostly they stayed away in case he was a Chess Piece; they were notorious for starting trouble, burning down buildings, desecrating towns and being destructive. The looks seemed not to faze him as he continued his path down the trail and to the centre of the city. He definitely had an ear pierced, but this could prove nothing. They all just let him pass, until he reached the centre, and turned left. He seemed determined to reach his destination, and none were too keen on stopping him. Until one idiot stepped in his way. 

It took him three seconds to try and be obnoxious and get in the stranger's way. Everyone looked on, some because of fear, other for knowledge, and the rest for wonder. The man whowas blocking his path was larger, fatter, and most likely stronger, moving with him when he did, stepping forward as he tried stepping backwards to go around. He seemed to enjoy taunting the stranger this way. This was a great mistake.

"You leave me no choice," said the stranger in an icy cold voice. In an instant, the man was stabbed through his chest with a dagger made of ice; it had seemed as though the young teenager had not moved an inch, but they could all see the dagger sticking out the idiotic man's back, catching and reflecting the amplified sunlight. The man had uttered no command, but, from the 3 magical stones glinting in the hilt of the weapon showed it was definitely an ÄRM, a weapon ÄRM if they were not mistaken. As he pulled the blood-stained dagger out of the man's chest, everyone quickly resumed what they were doing, no-one standing in his way as he finally reached the house at the end of the street.

* * *

(Foot Note: Yay! Chapter 2 is complete! So, yes, this story's rating has been booted up just in case the blood and the dagger were too much, but I really don't think it's all that bad. My chapters will get longer hopefully, so stay tuned. Net time, he rejoins the Chess Pieces after a small test. Should be a good one! Oh, by the way, I'm 13 too, so rate fairly ) 


	3. Chapter 3: Tests and Triumph

(Thanks for all you support of the story! I thank you all! Plus, I changed the spelling of "Luberian" in Chapter 2 as it was pointed out; thanks for the help! For some reason, I can't access my reviews, so I hope I'll be able to soon. Enjoy the new chapter!)

Chapter 3: Tests and Triumph

* * *

He stepped through the large archway to a familiar hallway. This was the headquarters of the first ever gathering of Chess Pieces, his step-mother included. They all had plotted schemes, gathered forces and got given ÄRM in these very walls. It was slightly nostalgic to him, but this was not the reason he had come. His main purpose must stick in his mind: to crush his sister. These were the people that would help him do exactly this. He double checked he had everything he needed, and then continued down the hall.

The hall itself was of dark colours. The walls were made out of a deep shade of mahogany timber, expertly smooth and soft as he ran his hand along the side. The hall was wide enough to fit at least four people shoulder to shoulder, though few more than one at a time passed down or up it. There was little decoration, though this he expected. The only piece of furniture was a table of the same wood at the far end of the hall. There was little lighting as he slowly walked down the same hall he had six years earlier. Back then, he was the young little child that everyone thought was a joke. Oh, but they learned, the hard way. He relished these memories, but had to stop and remind himself of the reasons he was there as he reached the end. Anger, hatred, jealousy; these were the feelings that drove his journey, the reasons he left his home in the icy plain and trekked here to the village of fire, to destroy that which he once knew.

The next turn was made to the left, and he entered an immense room, and it would be here that the Chess Pieces would have held their meetings in secret, until the knight Phantom relocated them. Here, new Chess Pieces were tested and inducted, with the pawn piece earring pierced in their ear. They were also given "upgrades" here; say from pawn to rook or bishop to knight. Luckily, the doorway also detects people entering and leaving, checks if they are a Piece or not, and then sends the information to Phantom; soon, the red energy that was signature of Phantom's teleportation appeared before him. He stepped further into the room and waited until Phantom would arrive.

* * *

"Phantom has more important business to attend to now, and so the day's games are postponed until tomorrow. Please enjoy this day off!" explained Pozun, the judge of the War Games. He turned on his heel and took off towards the exit slightly hurriedly, as if he was not to happy with his job, and seemed as happy as Team MÄR was.

"Phantom with important business? And I was so looking forward to today's matches," mocked Dorothy with a sly sarcasm in her voice.

Gaira stepped forward powerfully and said, "Well, this gives us a perfect chance to..."

Everyone quickly cut him off with a groans and a unified, "NOT MORE PRACTICE?!"

"We've worked hard enough already, I mean, Jack and I have already been in those gates twice now! You can't force us back in there!" cried Ginta

"Yeah, exactly!" agreed Jack, who was leaning on his Battle Shovel tiredly after waking up only minutes ago, and wanting to fall back asleep as soon as possible.

"You can't possibly mean me?" asked Dorothy, surprised the old man would even think of that.

"Come on, Gaira, do we have to? I spy some pretty ladies lookin' my way!" chuckled Nanashi, as he waved over at the group of giggling girls across the plain, who started squealing over this gesture.

"No, I side with Gaira here: we all need improvement." stated Alviss.

"Thankyou, Alviss. Now, I ask you all to be prepared for this gate. It will test your abilities to their limits so far..."

* * *

"Ah, if it isn't the queen's stepson, the young prodigy. I see you have returned, hopefully to come out of your hiding?" asked the knight, Phantom.

"That I am, Phantom," he replied in his icy voice. He was glad that he remembered him.

"So, I believe I am right in assuming you wish to rejoin the Chess Pieces?" queried Phantom.

"Again, you are correct. Let's get it over with; I don't have all the time in the world right now." He felt a slight pain as one of his wounds reopened and blood trickled out. "Okay, maybe just a bit of time of rest then." He pulled out his medallion from his chest and called, "Glacialis version 2: Ice Healing!" The ice stuck to his cuts and wounds, working on them quickly as they healed.

"So, you've learn some new tricks, have you?" asked Phantom.

"So many questions, Phantom. Have you no news to tell me?" he answered. The ice slid off his skin and revealed nought but a few scars.

"Well, no, not really. The Team MÄR has been desecrating our lower ranked pieces, but I doubt they'll be any match for you when you get there. That is, if you get there. You will have to take the tests again. I think you'll see that this is fair; I mean last time you really got in because of your hate, anger and also the slight up-side that your step-mother is the queen of our organisation." Phantom smugly replied.

"Fine then, Phantom. What do I have to do?" he asked.

"Simple. You must defeat an enemy from each level of the Chess Pieces: a pawn, rook, bishop and then a knight. But, considering you are the queen's stepson, I guess I'll add that you have to complete it all in at least 30 minutes. Any problems?" explained Phantom.

"None at all, Phantom. Tell me when to start." He replied calmly, still with his sinister, icy cold voice.

"Fine. Pawn, come forth." said Phantom, as a young girl stepped out, slightly altered. He assumed that Chimera had been let loose with her, and now she was half animal. She seemed distressed as if she was not normal. None the less, he would have to defeat her, in the easiest way: death. Phantom stepped to the side.

"BEGIN!" exclaimed Phantom, as a timer appear above his head.

_This will be a piece of cake. 30 minutes, no problem._ he thought. "Ice Kunai!" and the chain around his wrist extended and the dagger grew full size. In a split second, he had thrown the kunai straight through the pawn's chest. Her breathing now came in short and sharp sounds and she collapsed, blood pouring out of the place where the kunai had struck. She soon died.

"PAWN DOWN!" called Phantom. "Next opponent, rook level Pravu."

As the contender redrew his bloodstained kunai, the new opponent appeared. He had a large scar on his right cheek, and a muscular build. He had tattoos on his arms of two dragons, and of course, his rook earring jangled from his ear. There was still 25 minutes left.

Pravu called out "Darkness Sceptor!" and conjured a black staff. He started to run towards the enemy, with the staff held in front of him.

The contender retaliated by throwing his kunai at the man running towards him. Pravu blocked it by letting it lodge in the staff. The contender grimaced and called "Version 1, Ice Bomb!" and soon the kunai exploded. When the dust cleared, Pravu was completely frozen solid, movement gone, and thawing impossible. "Who's next?" he called to Phantom. There was still 20 minutes left on the clock.

"Uh..." Phantom was not enjoying seeing his carefully chosen warriors losing (though he expected the pawn to lose) "ROOK DOWN! Next opponent, Fabul of the bishops."

The bishop, Fabul stepped forward, adorned in black robes, and holding a book in his left hand. He glanced up at his opponent and then shut his book. "Fantasy Land!" as the land shifted and twisted into an entirely new landscape. The book must have been the ÄRM used. "Cupid's Arrows!" was called as several shots were fired from above, where Fabul was now standing, well above the contender below.

"Ice Cubes!" he called as his ring glowed bright blue and a large brick of ice was formed around him. The arrows broke on contact with the massive cube of ice, and he was safe from harm inside. "Guardian ÄRM: Glacialis!" and his medallion disappeared.

"Whatever do you think you're..." but Fabul's sentence was cut short as a magician adorned in light blue and red robes touched him from behind and automatically, he was frozen. Glacialis smashed the ice into small fragments, and Fabul was no more.

The cube of ice vanished around him and Glacialis returned to medallion as he was returned to the room of the Chess Piece headquarters. Phantom was astonished that it had taken him no longer than 7 minutes to kill a bishop level, and a high one at that. There was only 12 minutes left.

"Bishop down? Next contender..." stuttered Phantom. He had never seen this much rage, hate, want for death since himself. "Lamn of the knights, who recently replaced Kouga in the rankings."

Lamn walked out and quickly called "Silver Sickles!" as two blades appeared on the edges of his arms. He dashed towards him, but had been watching the previous battles and knew about the Ice Bomb ability of the kunai, so he was wary of this. The contender soon realised that he would need a large boost of speed to win.

"Ice Kunai Version 3a: Ice Bomb Blaster!" as the kunai morphed his hand into a large rocket-launcher like gun. Lamn full well realised its ammunition and was dodging already in case they were quick, changing his pattern so that he could not be determined. But, instead, he aimed it at the floor, and fired. There was a great explosion, and, when the smoke cleared, there he was, covered completely in ice. Lamn stopped where he was in astonishment. Phantom had no idea what to say.

"Maybe it was too much for him?" Phantom chuckled. "He still has 8 mi..." But Phantom was cut short as the ice figure sped with extreme speed to Lamn. In three second he had arrived and a second later, Lamn had a spike of ice sticking out of his back, covered in blood. The contender removed his bloodstained arm from Lamn and shook of the blood with immense speed as Lamn collapsed and died, much like the pawn before him. The ice shattered into pieces around the contender, and only six words emerged from his lips, still retaining that icy cold voice that was his trademark, though this time with a happier atmosphere to it: "Ice Kunai Version 2: Iced Speed." The timer was stopped on 7 minutes to go.

"So, I am now a knight, no?" he asked.

Phantom was slightly stunned at that wildcard move that had just been used before his very eyes, though still trying to retain an atmosphere of control. _He is truly the queen's stepson..._ "Welcome back to the Chess Pieces."

* * *

(Foot Notes: I'm trying to keep the name out of it till he verses his sister, but it's really difficult. Chapter 3 is complete, so thanks once again for your support and I hope this was an adequate enough page! A lot of my names with come from Latin if you notice: glacialis is Latin for ice, for example, and pravus means evil. Fabula means tale, as in storybook, and Lamn from the Latin for blade, like his sickles.

Till next time! VOA)


	4. C4: From Rags to Riches and Vice Versa

(Thanks for all of your assistance; I've used it to make my story better. Keep those reviews going : Sorry it's taken me so long…)

Chapter 4: Rags to Riches and Vice Versa

* * *

Ian, the knight, felt oddly strange as he walked the halls of Phantom's floating castle. Something had gone from him; something important to him, but not to others. He continued down the path to where the pawn Gido was held, horribly mutilated from the effects of Chimera and her ÄRM's powers. After this, he would begin training to become a knight ranked Chess Piece, and destroy Chimera for what she had done to his girlfriend. He knew that it was Chimera's doing immediately, and despised her entire body for this act.

He reached the end of the long hall, and was stunned to find the door askew, with a slight imprint on the door of a bandaged hand, and it seemed as if someone had been knocked into the door. There was definitely a struggle here, between Gido, and Phantom…

"What the...?" Ian questioned. Gido was gone, and he knew that Phantom had taken her somewhere...

BUT WHERE? He needed to know if she was alright. Considering it was Phantom he was talking about, odds were not in Ian's favour. He fell to his knees, and started sobbing.

* * *

Ginta appeared first, followed by Snow and Alviss together at the same time. Snow ran to Ginta and they celebrated another training gate successfully completed. As they were jumping for joy, Nanashi appeared, his hands placed behind his head in his trademark position. The girls squealed with delight as they saw him return. Dorothy and Jack simultaneously returned, with Dorothy running towards Ginta as soon as she spotted him, knocking Snow out of the way as she went.

"Oh, Ginta! I missed you so much! Did you miss me? Are you stronger now?" Dorothy riled question after question at Ginta, giving him absolutely no time for an answer.

Jack turned away. "Why do you care about me, Dorothy?" he sobbed as he sulked.

Gaira greeted them all, as did the dog Edward, Snow's assistant. Belle seemed happy that Alviss was back, and greeted him with a hug.

"It's good to see you're all back in one piece, and I can sense that you are all stronger than before. Excellent work. You should return to bed now, and get some rest; I would say it is safe to assume that the War Games will continue tomorrow." Gaira stated. The sun had already set, and there were lanterns around the groups of people that had remained to see the warriors return. This included the group of girls which Nanashi had already snuck off to and started a conversation with. There was a dark haze around them all, caused from the darkness of tonight. Snow shivered. Ginta cuddled with her.

"Are you alright? You seem cold..." Ginta asked.

"Something feels bad in the air. Something is coming... but I don't know what or when..." Snow seemed confused. "Maybe I should have some rest, it could help." She took off to where she would sleep that night. Ginta yawned, and went off to his own quarters, dragging Babbo along with him. Nanashi rapidly tired and sluggishly picked himself up and away from the girls he had been chatting with, as they also took off to bed. Dorothy became bored and left the area as well. Jack, seeing no reason to stay, followed after Dorothy and separated at the end of the corridor. Edward ran after Jack after he finally realised that he should be off. The only ones left now were Gaira and Alviss, with Belle by his side.

"Gaira… do you really think that we are going to win?" Alviss asked. He had turned off to go to the bed chambers, and it had crossed his mind many times since the start of the competition.

Gaira sighed. "We will find out sooner or later, Alviss. Focus on the competition ahead, and keep your head in the games." He took off to the sleeping quarters, and all was silent and calm. Few days were to be like this again.

* * *

Phantom's steps echoed throughout the castle as he walked through the hallowed, dark halls. Following him was the newly appointed knight, taking everything in and registering it in his elaborately calculating mind.

"This is the castle of the Chess Pieces. We all live here, sleep here, but the action is below us. The live link is how we can see the action, and as a knight, you have full access to it at all times. I do enjoy watching Team MÄR, and you would enjoy watching your sister I would assume." Phantom chuckled, predicting the question that would arise.

"How would you know about her, Phantom?" the knight questioned.

"Being top knight makes me quite close to the queen and through this I learnt several facts, one of which that Snow is your sister." He grimaced.

Here they passed two other knights: Candice and Ash. Candice blushed as she saw Phantom walking towards her and from this, Ash was the first to speak.

"Who may I say this boy is?" Ash asked. "Don't tell me you've started to recruit children now!"

"No." spoke the knight. "I am the queen's stepson. I have returned to the Chess Pieces to destroy my sister, Ash. Can you remember me?" A small smile crossed his blank face.

"No way… you can't be. Really? Then welcome back! It's good to see you here." Everyone could tell from his voice that Ash would be smiling under his skull mask.

"So this is the queen's stepson? What rank did he get?" Candice smirked. "Probably rook, right?"

"No, I'm a knight, thankyou very much, Candice. You may find yourself knocked down a few pegs if you doubt my abilities." He shot an evil glance at Candice, who looked stunned and shocked, and maybe even frozen from the look.

"We'll be on our way then. Candice; Ash; goodbye." Phantom turned to continue through the castle, leaving Candice freaked out and Ash resisting the urge to chuckle at her.

* * *

Ian had heard that Phantom had returned to the castle, and had brought the queen's stepson with him, who had defeated Lamn and gained the rank of knight. He had also apparently killed a pawn, rook, bishop as well as Lamn. "It must have been Gido! That monster… that hideous, disgusting creature… He'll rue the day he crossed my path!" He left to find Peta and begin his training. He now had two enemies to kill: Phantom and the knight.

* * *

Snow slept in a state of chill. She had felt cold before, but this cold was more evil. In her dreams, she saw a teenager. Black haired with streaks of ice through it and blue eyes dull like stones. A breeze blew past and she felt cold. So very, very cold. Cold heart, cold body, cold soul. She felt attached, and soon there was a weapon in his hand. An ÄRM, of crafted ice, with three glinting red stones. She felt herself being drawn closer, closer, until she could feel his icy chilled breath. _I am coming for you Snow. You are doomed. You will not survive._ Then the dagger pierced through her and she awoke screaming. The teenager's face was familiar. She knew that he was evil. She knew she would see him again. She knew he would find her. But she didn't know who he was. She hoped she would when they met face to face.

She shuddered at that thought.

"Are you OK, Snow?" Dorothy asked, as she burst through the door. "I heard you scream. Did you have a nightmare?"

"I'm fine. I just feel a little chilly, that's all." She shivered at the thought of the teenager. The blank expression on his face, the dagger, all seemed to press on her like bitter frozen wind. Dorothy shrugged and left the room. Snow slipped back into bed, and tried to sleep.

* * *

Ginta was having a nightmare too. A teenager was beating up several people in turn. Then he saw Ian's face, crying for some reason. These images were quite strange, and the teenager seemed to be very good. He awoke to find it was morning, and the skies were bright on a new day of battles.

* * *

Phantom had shown the knight around, and had left to watch the battles. He asked if there was somewhere he could go to fix his tattered clothes, and Phantom told him where to go. As he was sewing the cuts caused from the blizzard he struggled through, a knock came at the door. He told the person they could come in.

"Sorry to intrude, but are you the queen's stepson?" the stranger at the door asked.

"Yes I am. And the door is creating a draft, so hurry it up." He was sewing the shirt he was wearing, and hadn't put his other one back on, so he was at the moment shirtless. The draft was not the only thing making him uncomfortable: he just wanted the person gone as soon as possible.

"Then you must be my stepbrother!" the person exclaimed.

"WHAT?!" He stopped the sowing and turned to face the person at the door, who looked nothing like him in anyway. "Who are you and how are we related?"

* * *

Phantom couldn't wait to see what the Team MÄR crew had in store for him today. He had thoroughly enjoyed their battles so far, and was wondering what would be coming next. "Surprise me Ginta."

* * *

(Foot Notes: Don't you just love being left on the edge? I don't think this is much longer, but I don't think they'll get any longer till I get his name out and the fights start.

Happy Reading! VOA!)


	5. C5: Another Branch

(I've become completely engaged in other things, I haven't truly had time to finish this, but I'll try to do as much as I can… Stay tuned, please! )

Chapter 5: Another Branch

"I'm your brother. Well, stepbrother, to be precise. I bumped into Dad, and he told me that you would be here at the moment, so I came over to say hi." He paused for a minute. "Hi!" The mystery child grinned.

He assumed that this child was no more than 10. And, it seemed, he did have a slight resemblance to his mother. "What is your name then?" he asked, in that same icy tone of his.

He paused for a minute. "My name is Forta." the child mumbled. His stepbrother's voice didn't give him a good impression of what he thought of Forta.

"That's good to hear. Can you leave me be now?" he asked.

"Wait, what's you na-," he started to ask, before the door was slammed in front of his face. He started to sob. "DADDY!" Forta yelled down the corridor, as he started running to his father, sobbing "Daddy" all the way.

He sighed and returned to his sowing. He wanted to be able to have something to wear at least. _Stupid snowstorms..._ he thought.

* * *

Forta had caught up to his Dad who was watching the super awesome television they had. "Daddy," he said in a very sweet tone, tugging at his robe, "why won't my brother talk to me?"

"He's very busy, son." replied Phantom.

* * *

Ginta and his crew had another bout of fights, and the competition was starting to get fierce. They had started into the bishops, and Kanochi had given them the advice of watching out for knights. Now they knew that they would need to train their hardest if they were to destroy the Chess Pieces.

"It'll only get harder from here you know." voiced Gaira. "We must take every opportunity. Think of all that they have done to MÄR and, more importantly, what will happen if we don't succeed. Do we all understand?"

Everyone looked at Gaira and said, with the most determination and power behind their voices that they could muster: "Yes."

* * *

Now finished with sowing, he found his quarters and double checked everything. His ÄRM were always with him, but everything else was fine and intact. He wouldn't need to do much else except wait and train. He pushed open the door, which he had decorated with ice, not to show off, but as a warning to all who enter of their inevitable fate. He walked out a bit, and found himself feeling better. Soon he would have blood. Soon he would have his revenge.

But for now, he must wait. And anyway, he had already waited some three or four years, what more would a few weeks make?

He stepped down the dank corridor, and, finding no-one interfering with him, walked directly to Phantom.

Phantom had controlled Forta by letting him sit with him and watch the matches that were finishing. This particular match was for his pure enjoyment and had no effect on the outcome of this set of games. It was against Rolan, the first knight that Team MÄR has battled with, and the Cross Guard member Alviss. It had ended with the victory of the Chess Pieces, and he would've expected no less of Rolan.

"Wow, that was so cool, Daddy, I hope I'm as good as him when I grow up." Forta grinned.

Phantom had a grimace on his face, until his stepson came in. "Phantom... and Forta?" This was the first time Phantom had heard question in his voice. "Wait... Phantom... You're my... stepdad?!" He was shocked.

"Well, yes, I am." Phantom replied coolly.

"Did you think you could've told me this, perhaps?" He was getting incredibly frustrated at all these thoughts that now swirled around his head. Thoughts were contradictory, and contradiction could not occur on a battlefield. He had ignored many things that he knew to be distracting, but the thought of Phantom being his stepfather made no sense at all.

"Daddy, what's wrong with him?" Forta asked, as his brother writhed on the floor, holding his head.

_What's happened? _You've grown weak. _But... It's his fault... My head...I ... I..._

He fainted, and Phantom grimaced again, returning to watch his screen. Forta seemed very shocked by this, and ran back to his room, slamming the door, and trying to go to sleep.

* * *

In his dream, his sister was standing in front of him, with the blond haired boy he had heard was called Ginta. They seemed very happy together. He found his trademark kunai in his hand, and with little force he stabbed his sister.

The blond haired boy vanished, and he found himself falling through a world of fire. He saw Ginta, and Kanochi, and several others, including his sister. Here, he didn't quite feel himself. Then he found himself in a world of ice, and suddenly felt such strength within him that he knew the ice would give him power.

He awoke in his room, and realised what he must do. He immediately demanded the training room of fire. Fire, and darkness.

* * *

On the topic of darkness, everyone had been called into the Shadow Gate to grow by fighting the shadow versions of themselves. Ginta had definitely grown stronger, and with his new ÄRM idea in his head, he was ready to begin fighting the Chess Pieces once more.

"Take the knowledge that you have learnt and fight your hardest, all of you. We've met a knight, and it will only get harder from here. Be prepared." Gaira's words echoed as Pozun thrust the members of MÄR into the ice realm yet again for their fifth round of bouts.

"Sure, old man. We can do it!" Ginta grinned, as he was thrust forward into the realm of ice by the Andata ÄRM.

* * *

He pushed open the door and was almost overwhelmed by the heat and flames. This was ten times as bad as the village of fire. He took of his shirt, and pulled out his ÄRM, Ice Kunai, and began focusing his magical energy into keeping the ice frozen. "It shall begin."

* * *

(Foot Notes: I'm working on another fanfic as well as my actual story and this one, plus my school life and lots more, so please bear with me! This is sort of a filler to help all whom have been patient with me. More coming soon!

Happy Reading! VOA!)

(**New Authors Note!: Sorry to all of those who wish to continue viewing this story. I'm going to "terminate" it for a while, as I'm preparing for a trip to Beijing and several other major events. Sorry to keep you all in suspence about the mystery man's training, but I'm sure you'll all agree it'll be worth it.)**


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